#The last courtroom scene in SoJ got me thinking about them

[alynnl]

I imagined a scene today for Apollo and Nahyuta post-SoJ:

It's night, after another long trial in the Khura'in Hall of Justice.

Nahyuta arrives at the Justice Law Office to check up on Apollo, who's fallen asleep at the desk.

He looks at him sleeping and merely shakes his head.

"...Oh, Apollo, what am I going to do with you?"

Nahyuta gently nudges him awake and helps him get to his bedroom (which is a back room in the law office.)

And then they talk for a bit about the past and present, and Apollo starts to drift off again. But not before he tells Nahyuta to get back to the palace and get some rest himself.

Nahyuta quietly agrees, saying "good night" before stepping out.

These two have a long road to reconnect, but this is a start.

[shikis-game-reactions-blog]

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice

WARNING: I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL GAME REVIEWER, GAME CRITIC, OR WRITER. The following is just purely my opinion and reaction to the game. Also, ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE. So, yeah, I’m sure there will be a grammar mistake somewhere there. Please don’t be a grammar nazi. Lastly, THIS WILL NOT BE AN ENTIRELY SERIOUS REVIEW. Yay. *insert cute puppy face*

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING. The games I am reviewing belong to their respective owner(s). I DON’T GAIN ANY PROFIT FROM THIS, EITHER.

seeing your previous player character on the other side of the courtroom would make anyone scream

Okay, first, let me lay down some rationale for this game. The Ace Attorney franchise is really, really close to my heart. If Pokemon holds my past and my childhood, the Ace Attorney holds the key to my future – as dramatic as it sounds. The Ace Attorney is what pushed me to take the path of being a lawyer. Of course, it’s not the whole reason (I’m not too keen on putting my whole life and future over a single game, after all), the other is the desire to change all the stupid things that is happening around me. But still, it is what introduced me to the greatness of law, the importance of finding the truth, and the great feeling of satisfaction you get once you have found it.

note to self: don’t fangirl too much and read the important details. seriously.

CHARACTERS:

The Legend, Phoenix Wright

Let me say one thing, it’s really, really weird facing Phoenix in a courtroom battle. For five games, I’ve played as him, and then suddenly we’re battling against him as Apollo in a civil case!? I mean, we all anticipated it ever since we briefly controlled Edgeworth in Trials and Tribulations and acted as a Defense Attorney, but seeing the legendary Phoenix Wright on the other side of the courtroom is still surprising.

And scary. Definitely scary. Seeing Phoenix frown seriously, smirk and do a complete turnabout (which, normally is a good thing for us since we’re normally him) made Apollo (and us, the player) really quake in his boots. It’s like he’s getting back for all the abuse he received for being the butt monkey of the courtroom for the past 4 games!

Other than the very memorable Case 4, Phoenix goes back to being on our side again for the rest of the cases. I especially love the fact that even though 8 or so years has passed; Phoenix’s protectiveness over Maya has never failed. He went to another freaking country just because of a phone call for her! He fought on the wrong side of the truth (which is basically the opposite of his whole values) for her! He knowingly risked his life over her (though then again, this part’s nothing new)!

Every girl needs a Phoenix in her life, man. (NaruMayo ship: *sails*)

serious!Phoenix would make anyone tremble

Courtroom Revolutionaire, Apollo Justice

Okay, first of all, let me clarify; I KNOW THAT THIS TITLE BELONGS TO ATHENA. But it just fits, you know? (Also, I don’t know how to spell.)

I don’t care that the title of the game says Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney; Apollo is the real star of this game (it’s like the reversed version of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, where the real conflict is about Phoenix.). I believe in the wandering fan theory that this last three games (Apollo Justice: AA, AA: Dual Destinies, and AA: Spirit of Justice) is about Apollo, similar to how the first three games (Phoenix Wright: AA, AA: Justice for All and AA: Trials and Tribulations) is about Phoenix.

And man, how those three games did a wonderful job building up Apollo into the brave little bird he is now. AJ shows how he starts as a rookie defense attorney, DD shows his high school-college past (aka Clay MY GOD *eternal crying*), and lastly, SoJ shows his childhood and ends in how he starts being a professional defense attorney (thus, making a complete, albeit reversed, circle).

Spirit of Justice shows a lot of tearjerker, heart-pulling and gasp-inducing scenes for Apollo that at this point in time I don’t know how he managed to not break down. Oh wait, he did break down, he even have a new, special animation for it. And my god that scene… I didn’t shed a single tear at that point, because I was just so horrified and overwhelmed and whatishappeningisthisreallyhappening. Yeah, that feeling. (I did cry, a lot, but at the later point of the game since it took time for my mind to acknowledge that ohmyggoditreallyhappenedhuuuHUHUHUHU-)

So yeah. Apollo really received his most-deserved characterization and development in this game.

The Funeral Prosecutor, Nahyuta Sahdmadhi

Nahyuta. Nahyuta… Is my baby. Because, really, he’s just so cute and naiive in some of the things! I mean sure, he’s really nasty, but so are the other prosecutors and you don’t see me hating on them (in fact Franziska is totally my role model). But we can’t all deny the fact that he’s really kind and gentle on other people, look at Ema for instance (it’s clear that he likes her btw, I just can’t decide if it’s platonic or romantic, since my KlEma heart’s really against it).

And just like any main prosecutors in any games, Nahyuta receives wonderful characterization and character development as the game progresses. Similar to Apollo, a lot of tearjerker scenes is about him, especially when you discover how much has he sacrificed for his family…

And Nahyuta’s totally an overprotective brother to Rayfa. I can’t wait to see the next game just to see their post-game interactions.  

look at this two original assistant babies turning to mature babies

The Ace Assistant, Maya Fey

MAYA. SHE’S BACK. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

Ace Attorney fans have fully risen from the dead the moment the trailer showed Maya returning for this game. It’s what we have been wishing for in these past two games! Our beloved Ace Assistant is back! And partnered with Phoenix no less! Sarcastic conversations! Funny interactions! Ladders vs. Stepladders!

Our original Ace Attorney duo is back! AAAAAAAAA-

But still, of course 8 years have passed, so it’s inevitable for Maya to change. Even though most of the time she’s still childish and funny, there are still many scenes scattered all around the game that shows her all grown up that you can’t help but remember her older sister, Mia. The game shows Mature Maya, the Leader of the Kurain Village.

Also, the Spirit Channeling scene is very, very beautiful. I’m glad that we actually saw it for the first time.

lil’ princess is just so cute!

The Priestess, Rayfa Padma Khura’in

Princess Rayfa is a cinnamon roll. A tsundere cinnamon roll, and that what makes her a very cute and wonderful and funny assistant.

Serious talk though, Rayfa is the youngest (except for Ahlbi) character to be introduced in this game, and it shows. Although she acts all high-and-mighty and incredibly mature due to her status as a priestess, there are times that her childishness shows true. And I think it’s completely okay – and Phoenix and Maya does to. She tries too hard to immediately grow up , but what she doesn’t know is that being true to your age gives you wonders too.

And, oh god, the pressure given to her by her mother… I can totally relate.

That scene when she was asked to show her (adoptive) father’s death in a Divination Séance… it made me cry for Rayfa [seriously, this game made me cry a lot]. Sure, we’ve seen her faint a lot of the times, but it’s only for dramatics; to show how horrified she was that we beat her. But that scene… is the real deal. We actually saw Rayfa going pale, gasping for air, eyes wide… and faints. It’s – just – so heartbreaking…

can we all just cry

The Dragon, Dhurke Sahdmadhi

Oh my gosh, where do I even start.

*cries*

My first impression of Dhurke during the trailer was he’s the typical rebel antagonist in a game. And it continued on as we first got a glance on him at the end of the second trial.

Oh boy am I glad to be wrong.

I admit – Dhurke has not been a particularly good father to Apollo. Sure he’s got his reasons, being busy with the rebellion and all, but imagining a little Apollo hoping for his father to show up, pick him up and get him out of his misery – yet incredibly devastated as later, he will know that no one will show up, really broke my heart. Apollo did not deserve that. No child deserves that.

But oh man, he still loves Apollo. He loves Nahyuta. He loves Rayfa. He loves his children – anyone playing the game can see that. He just shows it in a different way, but every action he takes – it’s for the sake of his family. (Nahyuta really is similar to his father)

SPOILER

Too bad he’s not even alive. I can’t believe all the time we’ve spent with him as Apollo is… not exactly a lie, the interactions with him is the truth – he loves Apollo. But… you know.

Imagining his thought process while he was being spirit channeled by Maya and spending time with his son he had only seen now for the past two decades… is very depressing.

The Childhood Duo, Athena Cykes and Simon Blackquill

I admit, I am disappointed with these two. Well, not these two exactly, they’re perfect just the way they are (I MEAN CAN YOU BELIEVE IT SIMON AND ATHENA TEAMING UP. THE PSYCHOLOGY CHILDHOOD FRIENDS, DEFENSE-PROSECUTOR DUO IS TEAMING UP AAAAAA-), but I’m more sad in the roles they are given. More specifically, the wasted potential of their roles.

The theme of the whole game is inheritance. Inheritance from parent to child, and inheritance from teacher to student. And Athena and Simon’s ace – Psychology – is literally that, an inheritance from Metis Cykes!

They don’t need to create a whole batch of other characters. I’m not saying the Rakugo case sucks – it’s very new considering we have another Japanese culture-themed case; and the fact that a psychological disease (the multiple personalities stuff) is the main turning point of this case makes it a perfect case for Simon and Athena – but maybe they should have used it for the next game?

Athena and Simon were only introduced in the last game – so I’m definitely hungry for more backstory and deeper characterization for these two wonderful characters. And what better way for us to get to know more about theme more intimately than to get to know these two’s most important person, Metis Cykes, and her gift to them?

But hey – I’m complaining but I’m not particularly shunning these two and Case 3. As I said, Case 3 is a wonderful and genius case (but what would you expect from Ace Attorney, right?). It’s just that, the potential…

The Game

So far, this game has the largest amount of ‘gimmicks’ or ‘powers’ featured. Phoenix’s Magatama, Apollo’s bracelet, Athena’s Widget, Ema’s Forensic stuff, and the newly introduced Rayfa’s Divination Séance. I think the only missing power is Edgeworth’s Logic Chess, and we have the complete set!

Each of them is unique and special in their own way, and they definitely made the game much more exciting and enjoyable. OF course, the traditional courtroom battle is as hard, mysterious and exciting as ever!  I cannot even predict who the culprit was in the start of the case, and if it was obvious who did it (like, it was showed in the initial cutscene or was directly implied), I can’t figure out how he/she did it without the help of the character I’m acting as. Which is a new thing for me, since in the past games, I already know who the real culprit is even before the player character knows. Well, most of the time, at least.

And the plot, oh the plot was absolutely complicated and mind blowing it’s wonderful. The family drama is as – if not more – dramatic than the T&T one. And that’s saying something, considering that the Fey clan’s story is really complicated too. And as I mentioned earlier, this game gave meat for the characterization of several characters.

Also, it made me cry probably around ten times.

 FINAL REMARKS

DO I EVEN HAVE TO? GO PLAY IT. Though if you still haven’t play the previous games yet, do that first THEN PLAY THIS. THE STORY IS GOOD. THE GAMEPLAY IS AWESOME. THE CHARACTERS ARE WONDERFUL. *eternal scream*

 FINAL NOTES: I’M SORRY IF I MISSED ANYTHING. What I wrote here are the things that really stood out to me. My aim is not to review everything about the game, but to write what I remember the most and what my reaction to it. If I did react to the whole game, it would take about 20 pages or so in MS word. (This is 4 pages, btw)

[fortunefavorsthebrave-dude]

took my melatonin HOURS ago but then got too into thinking about how i would fix the ace attorney sequel trilogy if given the chance so. here goes lmao under a cut so it doesn’t get crazy long

apollo justice: absolutely perfect start. wouldn’t change a single fucking thing.

aj2: for this one, klavier is still the prosecutor, ema is still the detective, and phoenix is still badgeless. we need more time to get to know the supposed core cast dammit. i’m stupid and can’t write mysteries so i have no real specifics BUT during one case they would introduce clay (maybe he’s in the larry role where apollo has to defend him as a fun continuation of that bit of og pattern) and the final case would end up revealing the truth behind apollo and trucy’s parents. maybe phoenix has to testify for some reason and apollo can sense he’s not telling the whole truth about everything and he breaks and tells them about thalassa. anyway. klavier gets a character arc where he works through all the shit that happened to him in aj, and he ends up stepping away from prosecuting for a while at the end of the game. ema manages to become a forensic scientist right at the end. both of these are important for the third game in the trilogy. oh and also i wanted something to tie it really directly back to aj, like another kristoph machination or a copycat killer, but i’m worried about it just being aj again. w/e i’m not actually making this.

OH MY GOD ALSO IMPORTANT: they don’t forget about the fucking jury system!!!!!!!! like the law does change (probably not in a meaningful mechanical way you’d still have to do cases the same it’s just a “jury verdict” now instead of the judge alone). that was such a huge part of the end of aj and it kills me that they just dropped it even though it wouldn’t have changed much about the games themselves.

aj3: this is just dual destinies with some tweaks, because i did actually like a lot of dd. the focus switches between apollo and athena as they swap out the defense and assistant roles during each case. athena takes point during the tutorial (so apollo can tutor), and takes point again during the last case where apollo is being a fuckin weirdo. obvi that would have to build up a little slower since i want apollo to be present in this game, but it’s generally similar. blackquill and fullbright and all that stays pretty much the same. what else uhh trucy is there just in a slightly reduced capacity (same as the original i guess lmao) and clay’s death actually hits you bc you’ve met clay before in the last game. klavier still helps out with the themis case, and probably makes at least one more minor appearance bc i love him. maybe in the tutorial to also help guide athena? he’s a nice guy he’d do that. better than a payne that’s for sure. anyway yeah at the end apollo says he’s sorry for suspecting athena and mentions something about what a great lawyer she is and how she’s more than capable of standing on her own.

WHICH LEADS INTO ATHENA CYKES: ACE ATTORNEY THAT’S RIGHT THE BATON IS PASSED ONCE AGAIN

i love apollo dearly but if he actually got a decent trilogy arc then i would be okay with him stepping aside to let athena shine. my concept is like. new detective and prosecutor (blackquill is DONE he QUITS fuck the justice system and fuck this he’s on a beach somewhere sipping cocktails and resolutely not thinking about courtroom shit) both of whom are ladies bc i hate gamers and i want them to be big mad. the assistant is none other than dear pearlie fey whom i love and miss and love. my rationale for this is like. 1) she and athena are around the same age so they’d get along well i think 2) every assistant is magic-based in some way and she fits the bill 3) it lets us see a character we haven’t seen since the og trilogy and who was also a child during her initial appearance like i would love to see how pearl’s changed and grown since then 4) i love her okay i just want her back

SO i have much less of a story concept for this one bc there would be new characters to kind of base things around (esp since athena kind of works through her trauma during aj3/dd) but i have this vision of like. phoenix is working towards getting his badge back (since capcom wants to suck his dick so bad fine w/e if you want another beenix trilogy you can have it but only after athena gets a turn) and he’s like ah shit pearlie’s flying in today from khurain but i have a test or something hey athena could you pick her up and keep her entertained. but athena’s like mr wright i have to go to a crime scene for my case and phoenix is like oh that’s fine i used to take her to crime scenes and court all the time she’s cool with it and athena is like. mr wright. why. but she picks pearl up anyway and she helps with the investigation and from then on they’re like Friends and they’re the duo for this trilogy, with an occasional swap-in from apollo and/or trucy. i also want there to be the question of like did phoenix do that on purpose or did he honestly just need athena to pick pearl up bc he double booked himself? The World Will Never Know.

i was also thinking about the seance mechanic in soj and how it’s interesting even though the rest of the game is a trash fire so like. maybe in the time between aj3 and ac:aa (which is maybe like two years?) spirit mediuming has kind of become cool again and is more widely accepted in a court of law so they can still pull off the seance bullshit and use that mechanic alongside pearl’s regular khurain channeling to spice it up some from the original trilogy. it could even be a case in the nebulous realm of aj2 that gets the ball rolling on that.

for the new prosecutor i think she has to be more of an edgeworth type than a klavier type, since athena is very emotional and less serious than apollo so she’d need to counterbalance that. as i was typing the last paragraph i was like oh FUCK what if she’s also a spirit medium from like a different family who’s trying to prove her worth against the fey clan in a public forum. idk how that would work mechanically but i would imagine similarish to nahyuta? like a female version of nahyuta but without the weird stupid family plot bullshit.

WAIT OH NO okay i forgot pearl was in dd!! it’s been too long since i played rip and she was in the bonus case too. like she has met athena already lmaooo. i’m willing to retcon that tho bc the aquarium case was kinda weird and hard to manage without phoenix being there, and also bc she doesn’t really do anything in dd, and also because i say so.

also: Pearl was originally characterized as a snooty rival spirit medium who was about the same age as Maya

took that off her wiki which means there’s some small amount of precedent for my new prosecutor. take that capcom. also i didn’t really mention the detective bc her character doesn’t super matter. it can be whatever lmao. double also all the old main characters make appearances throughout athena’s trilogy but i want to make it so so clear that it’s her shit and while the others might pop in to help out a little or just swing by and mention their own cases so we know they’re still out there, these are athena’s fucking games dammit.

anyway that’s all i’ve really got for now so. lol. i should go to bed.